¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Padre!

Bright and early (before 7 a.m.) Padre Ron was greet over the phone by the Casas Kids from San José singing all three versions of happy birthday! Then calls from Casas Sagrada Familia- each espressing in that awkward teenage way they best wishes for a happy birthday.Then other phone calls began. Next, a short visit by a passing parishoner and her dad. Finally, an email from Mom, and another one from Vicki. The day is underway! In this afternoon´s meeting with the Casas folks there may be a time of cake with the kids. Also, a bus load will show up for a celebration about 7:30p.m. - or 8:30p.m. There will be many sincere expressions of love and bestwishes. Peruvians don´t hide their feelings. For one who doesn´t like to be fussed over, it will be a little embarassing to be in the limelight so much!

In addition, I got a phone call from Padre Juan Carlos. They were only two hours from Ica, where the earthquake was, and are helping out at one of the soup kitchens set up by the Anglican church.

Please Continue to Pray

Please continue to pray for the earthquake victims in the Ica and Pisco areas. The weather has been inclement. Drinking water has been a continuing problem and, as many people were just barely eeking out a living before, they are left with nothing now and no employment.

The Anglican Diocese of Peru has been prominent in its aid activity and in feeding people.

Major Earthquake Hits Peru

On Wednesday evening, August 15, a major earthquake hit Peru. The epicenter was south of Lima and was 7 on the Richter scale and 7.9 on another scale. News reports to this date have estimated as many as 440 fatalities. We here in Arequipa felt it as did Father Ron and some US friends who were visiting Padre Alejandro in Cabanaconde. We all are fine. The only major highway connecting the southern part of Peru to the capital was badly damaged in at least 2 locations. This has effectively cut off land transportation on this commercial life-line. Our Lima churches and congregants are okay and immediately joined in the rescue and relief efforts.


While we in the South are cut off from the Lima area, we do have access to Pisco, a town severely affected. In response to local appeals, both Cristo Redentor and San Lucas are collecting food items to send to Pisco. There has been a huge flat-bed truck on the Plaza-de- Armas square receiving items for the affected area. And, yesterday evening the central police station had dozens of cadets boarding buses about to leave town to help in the devastated areas. You may keep up with our Anglican efforts by visiting Bishop Godfrey's special blog at : http://anglicanbishopperu.blogspot.com/ .


Please pray for families, businesses, the economy of Peru , and especially the poor who seem to always suffer the most in this time of crisis.


Romans 8:37-40

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRONOE Celebration

The school that Edgar and Giovana attend held a special competition in volleyball and soccer along with indigenous dances. Various other PRONOE´s participated, too. Edgar, Giovana and a houseparent attended the all day event. Padre Ron and Tía Vicki went out to cheer them on after church. It was good to see them in another setting. Edgar, of course, was cool while Giovana spent a great deal of energy practicing "voli" with her friends. To see more pics check out http://sagradafamiliacasahogar.blogspot.com/

Fiestas Patrias!

"Fiestas Patrias" is the Peruvian equivalent of the 4th of July. Parades, celebrations, speeches, etc. Diego and José were part of the honor guard that carried the San Lucas banner in an early morning parade on Sunday.

PARO!!!

"Paro" means strike! We are having a 2 day one now. This is a general strike involving businesses and transportation. Unlike a business or office, the Casas cannot simply be shut down for two days and still need staff and supplies. The directors have laid in 2 weeks work of dry goods, but fresh milk and veggies won't keep that long. We hope this strike doesn't turn into an "indefindo," or unlimited time strike. Those workers who live closest to Casa San José will take turns until transportation is operative again for the cook and other workers. Casa Sagrada Familia is a different situation as it is more remote and no one lives near it. Whoever is on duty will just be on until things clear up. The kids may learn more about cooking in the next few days than they care to know! Needless to say, schools and training institutes will be closed. Pray for a lowering of fuel costs and food prices. These strikes alway hurt the most needy the hardest.

Saturday Chores While the Older Girls are Away

José still had to help clean up inside, and Diego and Manuel outside. I think Martha enjoyed the extra quiet most of all!

Where have all the Sisters Gone?

Sounds like a song title, doesn´t it? That was the feeling around Sagrada Familia this past weekend-where are they? Margot, Susana, and Giovana got to go to Lima for a Happening. Needless to say, things were pretty tame here at home without them! Still, regular chores such as laundry had to be done and stuff picked up, etc.

Coats

Arelis sports one of the new San José jackets. All our kids got winter duds- long underwear, scarves and gloves and coats or jackets. At San José they all match. Not so at Sagrada Familia. They each chose their own style.

Kids at School

On a recent visit to San Lucas, we were pleased to see how orderly and on-task the kids were. This year there have been many improvements to our school program.

Seamstress

Giovana had a secret smile at the festivities. As the adolescents were leaving to return to Sagrada Familia, one of the tutors mentioned that Giovana was wearing a pair of pants she had sewn herself. Nothing would do but we had to get a picture. Tía Nanny who was here for a sewing project will be SO proud!

Dad Learns to Skate Board

A teacher at San Lucas, María Luisa played the mustachioed father learning to skate board in a skit done by the teachers. To tell if the audience liked it, just look at the faces in the background.

Dancing is Serious Stuff!

Dancing for the Fathers´Day celebration requires concentration as well as practice. If you don´t think so, take a look at Lizet´s face!

Holding Hands

Sometimes special days are hard for our kids. Here Miguel Ángel felt the need of a comforting hand to hold. Tía Vicki was quick to oblige.

New Do

Notice Victoria has a new hair style today. The teens seem to be sporting something different each week. Thanks to the Mothers´Day cards in Plano and the jewelry sales, the kids will begin to get a bit of allowance before long. They need to be able to buy a snack to share with their friends from time to time. Edgar and Giovana now make the trip to school on a "combi" or bus with a houseparent meeting them at the stop. We are still trying to get an official change on Edgar´s birth year to keep him with us for a bit longer. He isn´t ready to be launched out into the world yet! He will begin taking a more intensive computer course in a couple of months. That can lead toward a job later on.

Teens

Our Sagrada Familia teens seemed in good moods this morning. I just heard that Margot is progressing rapidly on the "teclado" or keyboard. Her teacher, Eliana, is going to lengthen her lessons. Edgar also is enjoying lessons. Giovana and Susana like to work with the overhead and the music transparencies. This is very helpful on Sunday mornings. José was acolyte today while Manuel and Diego spread out the Prayer Books. María Perez is preparing some of the San José kids for baptism.

Sunday Morning

Juan Diego leads the pack as the San José kids come in on Sunday morning. Tía Angelica accompanies him. New, reversible coats are on the way for the girls- navy on one side and red on the other side. They should be great for these cold mornings at school. Sweater jackets for the boys that zip up to a turtle-neck collar. Frequently it is 50-51 degrees in the morning and breezy. Padre Ron was afraid Juan Diego might doze off on the front row this morning! Thank you, Zoila, for Sunday school! Rosita taught the lesson this morning. We need someone who can do a second group of the 8-10 year olds. Maybe our intern David who arrives next Sunday can. We´ll see.

Brrrrrr!!!

We are moving into winter here. The weather has really changed. Now we have nights in the low 40's and days in the mid 60's. When one is in the sun, it is really hot. But, just step into the shade and brrrrr! We have bought more blankets for Sagrada Familia. Also, we bought flannel underwear, gloves and scarves for those who needed them at both Casas. Now we are in the process of buying more sweaters and jackets for the kids at both Casas. Thanks to the help of our friends we have picked up shoes for those hard to fit feet.

Our recent visitor from St. Luke's, Denison, TX, Deacon David, felt the nip in the air, and Jonathan was glad to have the mantle for this dance performance !

Are We in Mexico??

Even Martha and Susana were impressed by the hoopla at the church on Mothers´Day. One young couple had brought a group of Mariachis to serenade their mom after church. Of course, life is better for teens with a bag of chips! They musicians were great, but a one point it dawned on Father Ron that they had slipped into traditional Peruvian music which seemed to clash with their outfits.

Encouragement

Diego Armando gets psyched up for his dance. Padre Tony and Tío Alan will give him a hearty round of applause, I´m sure.

Thanks, Luis

Luis, one of the tutors (houseparents) for Sagrada Familia brought by a panel to send back to the States with the St. Matthew´s team. I do think the symbols for the Apostles are even better than on the previous one. Kudos, of course, to Tía Nani. By the way- can you identify the symbols of the twelve apostles?? Try it.

Medals

Medalist this year were Diego and José. There medals were for track in inter-school events. Great job, boys!

New Dance

José was in a new dance this year. Cool! A chance for manly sword-fight.

Jonathan, who I nicknamed "the Runner," shows off his stuff in the dances which were very good this year. Then Maricruz does her dance. Notice how much more mature Maricruz appears now? How can it be? Our little Casas kids are growing up!

Mothers' Day

Mothers' Day is alway one we try to soften for our Casas kids. We encourage them to give a card to a special Tía in their life. This year we had "big doin´s" at San Lucas where our kids really got involved as you can see.

Do You Know the Names of the Apostles??

Well, our Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia kids do. In a creative sewing project our adolescents learned how to hand sew 4 types of buttons, patch tears in clothing, and run our new SEWING MACHINE. Thanks to Tía Nani´s God-inspired project, the teens really learned about the different Apostles. Each one with his own symbol and particular role in the ministry. Boy, did the kids feel loved on!

New Duds

A few Sundays ago I snapped this of the Casas kids in some of their new duds thanks to the "Roof Dog" team! They brought down school shoes, but because or having to reschedule their flight down, they weren´t able to bring everything they had planned to bring. Now we have received the remaining tennis shoes that had to come down via other teams. WOOF!

Muscles

Manuel enjoys exploring in strength with Tía Toni at San José when the Sagrada Familia teens came over. While we have space at Sagrada Familia for the kids to play soccer, and we have a ping-pong table, we still need a slab and basketball goals at Sagrada Familia. Maybe some weights would be good, too. Muscles developing!

SPRUCING UP !

One of the things we greatly appreciated was the painting of the livingroom done by the "roofdog" team. It really helped! We received funds to get the living room furniture recovered and then noticed how in need of fresh paint the room was. We now have a fresh, bright room to receive the kids when they return for school. Thanks, friends!

Special Friends

Having the Christ Church team here was very special. Ron and Vicki also took advantage to spend time just enjoying the kids. They grow so fast and it seems there is never enough time!

New Friends

There were new kids to meet including Juan Diego (4 yrs.) and Ángela (7 yrs.) Currently we have 18 kids at Casa Hogar San José whose ages range from 3 to 11. And, we have 9 teenagers at Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia where their ages range from 12 to 17. Splitting the time up between the two homes takes a good bit of coordination. Many thanks to Vicki Robertson for all the arrangements done BEFORE the teams arrive!

Team

We had a great group this time, but we did miss the three that couldn't reschedule to come down now. I'm sure we'll see them later. Here we have them out in front of Sagrada Familia.

THEY'RE HERE!!

After the great disappointment of having DFW closed on the day of departure for the "Roof-dog" team, we were even MORE excited when the team DID arrive at a later date. Can ya tell?

New Sub-Director

Pictured here is the Casa "San José" director, María Perez and the new sub-director for Casa "Sagrada Familia," Pedro Huaymani. Pedro has been our Saturday psychologist for this past year and now has come on board in a full-time capacity as sub-director. Already, in the first weeks of his new position, we have seen a change in the timbre of the house. A loving, but firm hand is helping our teens move forward. María Perez continues to help with her vast experience in the field and makes sure we stay in compliance with Peruvian laws and regulations. Welcome, Pedro!

SPIFFY NEW UPHOLSTREY

Here is a picture of tutora Mari sitting on our newly reupholstered furniture at San José. We hope to get the livingroom painted soon, too. It will look great when our friends from Texas come to visit in the near future.

Mechanics

Okay, I'm way behind on the updates! But I thought you'd enjoy seeing Edgar and José in action. The two guys have been going three days a week during their summer vacation to a mechanic´s shop. We will see if this is something they want to pursue. It is great for these boys to be able to get out and around some more male influence. Their boss, Nestor, is a really nice guy and the boys are learning about both engines and wiring. Edgar really wants to be truck driver. You REALLY need to know something about auto mechancis here if you´re going to do that!!